Herobrine's Turn
by CodenameRedKrystalMatrix
Summary: What does it take to tear two loving brothers apart, and more importantly, what does it take to reunite them? Certainly not a ragtag trio of entities! Or does it...?
1. Chapter 1

Olivia raced through the forest biome, yelling at the top of her voice for sheer happiness. It had been an extremely good day for the dark skinned teen, from a successful hunt all by herself to a new pet wolf her dad brought home earlier named Silver, all was good and well in her life. She ducked under some branches, leaving some tiny, hardly painful scrapes, and cleared the forest, reaching the waterfall that flowed through the lands, the one that led to her home. There was a path that followed it, but she wasn't the kind to take the easy way out.

At the fall's edge, she took a deep breath and jumped downward, plunging her iron blade into the rock to slow her descent. Naturally, the sword was driving through the rock instead of anchoring her, but that wasn't the all-important factor here, was it? At the last second, she let go of the weapon.

"YOLO!" She screamed and finally hit the rushing river, laughing as she was carried swiftly home, amid the backdrop of the sunset.

At the first sign of her stone and wood cabin, she smiled and dashed towards it, knocking on the door as she wasn't the only one living here. Her elder brother, Lewis, was swiftly tackled to the floor in a hug as he struggled to shove her off him.

"Someone's in a good mood," he chuckled.

"Yep!" she bobbed her head up and down in a nod. Mom, Dad and Olivia's eight year old little sister, Lexi, entered the room.

"Found anything good?" Her father asked, jokingly ignoring her presence.

"Welcome home, Olivia." Her mother interrupted "Honey, aren't you glad our daughter is safe and not killed by mobs," She gave her husband a glare for his 'selfishness', forcing him to back down against the all-powerful wifely wrath opposing him. He mumbled an apology as Olivia dumped seven raw porkchops, nine cuts of beef and six cuts of mutton onto the dining table.

"Meat, meaty meat, looks nice," chirped Lexi, grinning at her favourite food in the universe.

"Well done, we'll have food for days," Dad smiled, giving his daughter a hug. In cheerfully blazing furnaces, the family cooked their meat and ate some with friendly chatter all around.


	2. Chapter 2

_Olivia_

The next day, we decided to do some exploring (or examining the territory, as Dad put it). We headed East into the snow biome, Silver posted at the front to guard the house. Donning our heavier, warmer jackets, my family and I wandered through the winter wonderland, making sure to create our maps regularly. Lexi found a snow golem, Charles, and waltzed away with her new friend. A snowball hit me square in the head from behind. It could only be one person…Lewis. I turned around to face the laughing man-child, scooped some snow into my hands and fired the projectile straight into his open mouth.

"Game on," he smirked, pelting snow right back at me, but hitting Mom instead. All mirth died away into silence, but that was before she smiled sweetly (I'm pretty sure I saw the mischief in those green eyes) , grabbed a fistful of snow and sent it straight into his chest, making him stagger back in shock. Suddenly, a strong, caramel coloured hand appeared from in the snow, pulling me to the ground.

A seemingly innocent mound of snow morphed into Dad, laughing at his prank. Mom and I piled snow onto him while Lexi and Charles appeared on a tree branch, shaking snow down onto us all. After hours in the snow, Lexi said a tearful goodbye to Charles and we began to follow our maps home. On our way, day faded into night and gleaming stars dotted the sky. Suddenly, we the strange, haunting sounds behind of an Enderman behind us. Dad spun around and gathered us behind him, now wielding his iron sword. Looking at our feet, we waited for him to finish the job.

A war cry sounded, in a lighter voice than Dad's, and to our shock, Mom lunged at the mob, slicing at it twice before it teleported behind her.

"MOM," Lexi shouted.

Not even looking back, Mom flipped the sword in her palm so that the tip faced behind her and lodged the sword in its torso. It gave one last cry before dying, dropping an Enderpearl.

"Great, now let's get home. Kids, ready your weapons." Dad ordered, hurling the Pearl as far as he could, and gathering us in his arms, we teleported away, a strange tingling sensation rippling throughout my body.

As we reached our destination, we could see the lights of our home, and raced towards it. On the way, we encountered some mobs, so swords raised and bows loaded (Mom's and Lewis'), we charged through them to our home, Dad hugging Lexi to his chest as we ran.

 _Wait, I've never seen so many mobs in my life. How are there so many?_ I wondered as I slashed my way through some more, my new blade working almost at fast as my head.

Once at our home, Silver was busy tearing through a skeleton. Fur and bones clashed and with a final bite, Silver cracked the undead skull. I held our brave dog in my arms and got inside just after Dad did. A horde of even more mobs groaned outside, trying to break the door down.

"To the armory," Mom commanded, and Lewis pulled the lever.

Sticky pistons worked, pulling iron blocks back to reveal the corridor leading to the armory. More weapons were grabbed and armour was quickly put on. Mom rushed Lexi into the small bed in the opposite room that was made in case of emergencies like this, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead to calm her.

"Don't move until we tell you to,"

She nodded, whimpering a bit. Lewis and Silver stayed with her while the rest of us went into the observation room. I kept my hand hovering over the little wooden lever, waiting for Dad's signal. Mobs hauled themselves into the open corridor, deliberately left so.

"Do it," he said.

I pulled it down, releasing scorching hot lava. All of them met a fiery demise.

Mom, Dad and I grinned at each other and as soon as I pushed up the lever and the lava stopped flowing, we rushed to the little bedroom, hugging Lewis, Silver and Lexi with the relief that it was all over. Daylight would come soon to deal with the ones outside.


	3. Chapter 3

_Herobrine_

I rained lightning and fireballs down on the puny village. It will crumble. This world will feel what I felt at the hands of my so-called brother. I suddenly sensed it; he was here. I spun around to meet the bane of my existence, _Notch._

"This has to stop, Herobrine. Why must you continue to hurt others instead of help them,"

"You know perfectly well why I do what I do,"

"Brother please…end this. Let me make it up to you,"

"YOU CAN NEVER MAKE IT UP TO ME. YOU. ARE. NOT. MY. BROTHER." I directed bolts of lightning at him.

He teleported away from them, and impeded my vision with a thick, surrounding fog. Feeling his presence nearing me, I de-materialized it and then, at an arm's length distance from Notch, I punched him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and seizing my opportunity, I blasted him with a fireball. He began to fall out of the sky, but not before stretching out his hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and inflicted me with a poison stronger than anything else in all of Minecraft. Only he knew how to create it…and only he knew how to stop it.

The last thing I remember before blacking out was falling from the sky, my regenerative abilities fighting against it.

* * *

 _...After a while..._

* * *

My eyelids felt weighed down by a thousand anvils, but I forced them open, observing several people (a family, judging by their similar genetics) staring back at me.

"That's not Steve," the smaller of the two girls whispered, hiding behind the eldest male, her father.

"Oh please, he's faking. 'The Phantom of Minecraft' doesn't exist. Pull off the mask, weirdo," the teenage girl laughed. I only stared at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine, the hard way, then," she sighed, and started pulling at my face, a strange tingle sweeping through me, accompanied by burning in my face and rapid heartbeats. What did Notch use in that poison?

I growled, shoved her off and teleported to a corner; a feat I could barely perform in this pathetic state. Her deep brown eyes widened in shock like the rest of her family.

"But y-you're just a l-legend," she stammered, looking ready to faint.

"Funny, I feel quite real,"

She blinked a few times and folded her arms tightly against her chest.

"How did you end up in a desolate village," the woman asked. "We were going to trade there when we found you unconscious,"

I opted for a half-truth. "Notch exiled me. I was wandering…through and I fell asleep. I don't…know what happened…to the village,"

The teenage male snorted. "You had it coming,"

His father glared him into silence.

I would have blasted him to the sky with TnT if I had the strength, but for now, I was struggling to merely stand upright. My knees gave in and I fell to the floor with a grunt, mentally cursing Notch for my weakened state. The younger girl lowered herself to her knees, light green eyes inherited from her mother boring into me.

"He's really sick, Mom. He could use some help," Childish sympathy was obvious in her high pitched voice.

The obsidian-haired woman sighed.

"Yes he could, sweetheart,"

"I don't need your pity," I took pride in my lone survival, and was not about to change that anytime soon.

"Well, by all means, haul yourself right back out there to collapse and die. It's not like you had another choice or anything," the teenage girl snapped, surprising me extremely.

"Why do you care,"

"You may be _the_ evilest thing since mooshrooms-evil freaks of nature, I tell you-, but no one deserves to die,"

I did not believe that she insulted a distant relative of cows and expressed interest in my wellbeing in the same sentence.


	4. Chapter 4

I learned their names and glimpsed their personalities over the next few hours. Lewis was the ever- changing teenage male, serious and level headed one minute, wild and reckless the next, the obsevant youngest of the family was Lexi, the father was Damian and the mother was Geneva. Then there was Olivia. Always with a silly grin on her face and infinite resources of energy, she was loud, careless and forever laughing…my complete opposite. She would break the moment she set foot in the Nether; it was no place for weaklings like her. This family took care of me, but I knew it was only for a time. Notch would reward them greatly for bringing me back, banish me from _His Majesty's Presence_ and I would once again have only my thoughts for company.

Night brought the mobs in abundance because of their creator's close proximity. Lying down in the bed provided, I stared at the ceiling, not wishing to think of my involvement in Minecraft; as the shadow to _**his**_ glorious light. So engrossed in my morbid musings, I wasn't even aware of my body giving in to the lure of deep sleep.

* * *

My white eyes snapped open at the crack of dawn as the sun lazily climbed into the sky. Sighing, I returned my head to the pillow. My situation hadn't changed in the slightest. I began to drift off again, but halfway between sleep and wake, loud, incredibly annoying bass music blared throughout the house, shocking me enough to pull me back to consciousness.

"TURN IT OFF OR I SWEAR I WILL HAUL YOU IN LAVA," Olivia yelled, her brother's laugh faintly reaching my ears before the sound became muffled. Maybe she was smothering him. At least I could be grateful to her for one thing. Then there were the sounds of a struggle and bodies falling to the floor. I was not sleeping anytime soon…

The girl raced past the door, her curly, reddish-brown hair flying behind her as her taller, faster brother followed in hot pursuit. Then there was a feminine scream, and another thump as they fell to the floor. Growling, I turned over and lay facedown on the bed, wondering when this childishness would end.

Immediately after, there was silence. Sensing that this was not due to the pillow in my face, I turned back over in time to hear their mother chiding them.

"…you know he needs his rest, and you still make more noise than a thunderstorm. Now for his sake, _quiet down_ ,"

"Yes ma'am," came the simultaneous response. At this moment, I decided to make my appearance, standing near the table where they were seated.

"We apologize about the noise," the father said, not being honest about it in the slightest. Brushing off the observation, I was about to head outside when the woman gave me three slices of bread, some chicken and two healing potions. Hesitating for a moment, I eventually accepted the supplies.

"You'd better drink those, I nearly died for 'em on the witch hunt," Olivia spoke up.

I made no comments about their 'kindness' and exited the house.

* * *

"Lone wolf much?" Lewis grumbled. "A little thanks would have been appreciated,"

"I think he's cute," Lexi smiled, nudging me with her elbow. "Right sis?"

"Right," I smirked and we fist bumped.

"Really? The creepiest guy in all Minecraftia, and you say he's cute?" Lewis quirked an eyebrow.

"He is handsome," Mom mused, earning a glare from Dad. "Would you relax, we have three kids. Do you really think I'd divorce you now?"

"Exactly how did we get to talking about this guy as if he's a supermodel on TV," Lewis asked, looking more that a little disturbed.

"Okay, interesting mental picture..." Olivia started smiling dreamily at the thought.

"Gang...stop. Herobrine cannot be trusted, much less...whatever it is we're doing right now. Reel it in," Dad ordered.

"Your father's right. We shouldn't be downplaying this situation. At any moment, he could attack us," Mom agreed.

Now in a more serious mood (and also slightly embarrassed) , the family finished their breakfast and commenced their daily activities. Olivia wondered why she felt so disappointed that she couldn't trust the guy.


	5. Chapter 5

Something most definitely was off today. Olivia could just feel it- something was missing. Walking throughout her abode, nothing seemed to be missing, but that nagging feeling persisted within her. Her mom was reading in the attic, Lewis was playing catch with Lexi outside, her dad was bathing Silver out at the back…

"Anybody know where Herobrine vanished to?" Olivia yelled as it finally clicked. Negative responses came from around the house.

"He probably went to the forest to get some alone time. We shouldn't worry about him too much," the matriarch reasoned.

Minutes became hours, which eventually lengthened to a full day, and there was no sign of the Phantom of Minecraft.

"Contrary to what you all might think, the guy has been living without help for who knows how long. He probably went to find the cure for whatever he's sick with,"

"Damien; you forget….he has little to no strength where his abilities are concerned. The mobs will not kill him, but think of what a whole village of people will do when they see their worst nightmare so weakened,"

"He can't take 'em down like that, not even if he tried," Lexi whispered, worrying very much at this point."

"Fine, we look for him first thing tomorrow. It's too dark now.

* * *

In the morning, the family (minus Lexi and Geneva) set out to find Herobrine, who by now had been reasoned to be an egotistical idiot by most of its members. Into the forest, over the hills and down to the valley they trekked, but to no avail. No sightings, no new rumors; it was as if he really was just a myth.

At sundown, they met at the rendezvous point at the edge of the forest with their reports and raced homeward, noting the decrease in mobs since Herobrine's absence. With nothing else to be done, they sat by the furnace in a downcast silence. Guilt poked at everyone for not keeping a closer eye on their silent guest.

"Ya think he's hurt, wherever he is?" Lexi muttered forlornly.

"The guy's tough, but anything could happen out there. He won't last all that long," Lewis brooded.

"If we could talk to Notch, maybe he can help in this situation. Hopefully their brotherly ties aren't as weak as they're made out to be in legend," their mother suggested hopefully.

"And what if they are? For all we know, it could be even worse in real life," her husband shot back.

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Herobrine struggled through the tundra, exhausted to the point of collapse, but he ignored that feeling for the moment. He needed to return to his fortress, where he could contact Notch and get him to undo this annoyingly powerful spell. And his potions stash would serve him well once he arrived. Grinning to himself, he summoned his deepest reserves of energy to gain enough obsidian to build himself a portal to his world. Hopefully he would receive a few extra bursts of energy from the magic floating around the fiery realm.

The ivory eyed male scowled. All this would only happen if he had enough strength to survive the teleportation-in other words, he was taking possibly fatal chances here. And he had no chance of executing his vengeance if his body no longer existed. Completing the portal, he lit it, and feeling the strain of using his abilities, stepped (or rather, stumbled) through.

He was immediately greeted by the heat he would eventually readjust to, accompanied with the sight of zombie pigmen, magma cubes and the like. Lying on the ground for a moment, sweat from his exertions trickled in beads down his face. While his heart drummed seemingly deafening rhythms in his head, Herobrine felt for a while, as if he would never get back up. His thoughts flashed back to a time before the rift in his relationship with his brother, when happiness and peace abounded between the two of them.

" _Come on Hero. Is this the extent of your magnificence?"_

" _By no means, brother. Hold your tongue and witness true power,"_

 _I stretched my hands out and summoned lightning to attack Notch. He maneuvered out of harm's way and charged towards me, sword in hand._

"What do you say _we settle this one the old fashioned way?"_

" _As His Majesty wishes," I smiled, creating one of my own and we collided in a power struggle. Smirking for a few seconds as his eyes widened in confusion, I quickly sidestepped, throwing him off his balance. I readied myself for a finishing strike, swinging downward diagonally to pierce his side. Anticipating this, he somersaulted over me and I had to turn quickly to block his incoming slice._

 _He jabbed towards my stomach and so preoccupied was I in ducking under, that I did not notice Notch's foot moving to trip me. Falling onto my back, I stiffened as my brother plunged his blade down. However, thinking on the spot, I used my legs to trap the sword and with a powerful kick, I sent it whizzing into the nearest wall. My momentum propelled me back onto my feet and I lunged forward, determined to win this battle. Notch, on the other hand, had no intention of making this easy for me, and gracefully stepped back every time I advanced, an eyebrow quirked mockingly._

" _And…here I thought…this would be difficult," He summoned a staff this time and whirled it around rapidly with both hands, creating a shield of sorts to fend off my attacks._

" _Then why do… you pant so… dear brother?" I teleported behind him and kicked him in the back. But he used his weapon for support and pole vaulted overhead. Grinning innocently, he whacked me in the stomach, rendering me breathless and, snagging my shirt, he flung my helpless being away. Lodging my sword into the ground as I descended, I landed and bending my knees, I pushed off once more to end this. Once more, we met in a struggle of physical strength and mental willpower. Putting the adrenaline coursing through me to good use, I forced him backward, and then to his knees._

" _Very …well Hero. You are quite… the opponent. I surrender," Notch spoke through gritted teeth, barely holding his ground._

" _I thought you'd never say those words. On the other hand, you held back, Notch,"_

 _He only scoffed. "You wouldn't have stood a chance if I didn't,"_

 _Smiling at Notch, I rolled to his right, gasping for breath. Laying down on the cool green grass, we each enjoyed the other's company._

Herobrine shook his head as if to cast the fond memories out of his mind, thought that was impossible. Struggling to his feet, he trudged along his nightmarish kingdom, pursuing his present goal: to end this eons-long battle once and for all.


	6. Chapter 6

_Herobrine_

It had seemed to take ages, but I finally made it to my fortress. First order of business: books-nope…bathroom. Definitely need a bathroom. After finishing up, I scoured the library for anything that could be of aid. My search proved futile. Clearly Notch had been keeping this one a secret. Growling in frustration, I collapsed onto the nearest sofa as my vision began to blur, and my head threatened to rip itself open.

 _You will pay for this, fool._

Forcing my being to work despite this pathetic weakness, I made my agonizingly slow way to the brewery lower down the hallway, where I greedily gulped down at least three Potions of Regeneration. The room finally slowed its rapid rotation and the headache lessened to a dull throb. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and proceeded to scream my lungs out in sheer rage. Brewing stands, bottles, recipes and potions clattered to the ground haphazardly in my destructive wake.

"What am I to do? Is this the way you do battle now, brother…by a cowardly curse?"

In all my existence, I had known exactly what I wanted- and when that changed, I merely adapted to suit. However, this time, there was only so much I could do to prolong the inevitable. My spell casting was becoming increasingly limited by the hour, and it would only be a matter of time before my potions failed to work against this cursed magic. The end to this tale had been long in coming, but I never imagined that this was how it would unfold.

There should have been a legendary battle, one to be written down, told and retold for centuries to come. But most importantly, it should have been me…to emerge victorious… in a blaze of glory for all three worlds to know, see and be in awe of. Not fade away in silence by a filthy, underhanded move played by a narcissistic excuse for a demigod. This was just…wrong.

Staring at the havoc I had wreaked on the room, a feeling of exhaustion and an unfamiliar confusion took over my being. What was I missing here? Was Notch trying to tell me something besides the fact that he loathed the very mention of my name? Asking the empty air didn't seem to be helping, so I succumbed to my need for rest, falling to my knees and slumping against the nearest wall. My eyelids closed within the minute and I believe my last thought was yet another question to myself. I wondered if I could rise again simply to clean up this disarray, much less to teleport to Notch's dwelling and demand answers.

 _Olivia_

The search for Herobrine had so far, been totally useless, and you can't exactly ask around for the Phantom of Minecraft, now can you?

"What if he's in the Nether after all and we're just being paranoid. He could be already healed and we wouldn't know a thing,"!

"Well, we won't know unless we look for him," I stood up "We have to find him. Who knows what would happen if he's down and out like this,"!

"Are you crazy, Ollie,"? "Lewis yelled "You can't find your way around your room, much less the Nether, unless I tag along to help out, with my years of questing experience. PLEASE,"?

He turned to Mom and Dad, puppy eyes on maximum.

"Not to mention your maturity," I rolled my eyes.

"Puppy eyes work when you're a little kid, not when you're nineteen and still eating my food," Dad frowned playfully. "But be careful out there. And make as many Regeneration Potions as you can,"

"Thanks Dad,"! We shouted in unison, grabbing our good weapons and other supplies from all parts of the house, as well as crafting the things we needed but didn't have ready-made.

When Lewis and I were ready to rumble, we were forced into a family hug.

"Stay safe you two. We'll check for any sightings of Notch and hopefully get some answers," Mom decided. "We're proud of you,"

"Don't die, you guys…" Lexi warned. "I like having a brother and sister,"

"We'll keep that in mind," Lewis smiled.

And we headed over to our Nether Portal and, with a few more goodbye hugs, (Silver looked so heartbroken!) we crossed over into the fiery realm. What we saw blew our minds.

"What the heck am I seeing,"? Lewis whispered.

The mobs that we could see…all of them…seemed human, just like us. "They weren't like this the last time we came,"

"Why would Herobrine do this to the mobs,"?

"No idea. More questions when we find him, I guess,"

"Aaaaand how exactly are we going to do that,"? Lewis huffed, viciously kicking aside a loose chunk of Netherrack. "Do we just walk up to these things and ask: Hey! We're looking for the big boss around here. Ya know where to find him,"?

"Do we have a choice,"?

He sighed and tightened his grip on his sword. "Let's do this thing,"

I nodded.

Clambering down closer to the redesigned mobs, we froze as some turned to stare at us. Grateful for my weapons, I skidded the rest of the way down and came to a stop in front of a Blaze, who quirked an eyebrow.

"Human,"?

She glared suspiciously at me-wait. She just talked to me. How did that happen?

"Your king: last we saw him topside, he wasn't in good shape, so we're looking for him; my brother and I," I gestured to Lewis in the distance, hacking away at a mound of Glowstone like there was no tomorrow.

"The king is more than able to take care of himself,"

"We're just worried; that's all. Who knows: It might explain why you're all human,"

She paused. "The Ghasts are organizing a team to head up to his Majesty's castle for answers to that very question. It may put your fears to rest if we leave with them,"

"They'll let us come,"

"If we can't find a way to go with them, we will make a way," She smirked, as Lewis jogged up to us.

"What I'd miss,"?

"Tell you on the way-why all that Glowstone, though"?

"You never know when you'd need refill potions on adventures like this,"

"This is your brother,"?  
"In the flesh. What should we be calling you,"?

"Ignia. Let's see what's going on with the team they're sending,"

When we walked over, they didn't seem too excited about humans coming with, but since we were the last to see Herobrine, they let us tag along. Glancing around at the frowning mobs as we set off, I asked myself a pertinent mental question.

 _What the heck did I just get myself into?!_


End file.
